Moritz Astner was born with a malformed left hand, but he hasn’t allowed it to stop him from reaching high levels in his country and on the continent.
Through two days in his first U-18 Baseball European Championship, Astner has collected 1 hit and 1 walk in three plate appearances while he also fought with his control on the mound against Italy with 4 walks and 3 hit batsmen plus 2 hits while giving up 3 earned runs in 2.2 innings on Day 2. Astner delivered a strong performance in the game against Israel, collecting a win with 1.1 innings pitched, no hits, runs, or earned runs. He issued one walk and struck out two batters.
“It’s a great experience to grow as a person but also be able to meet people from other countries and learn and see what they are doing. So it’s more of a learning experience. Also kind of seeing how you compare to other players,” said the 18-year-old middle infielder and pitcher.
Astner noted he has really learned to appreciate the home Germans’ hitting. “The Germans really have a great bat-to-ball. It’s great to see their swings. They are beautiful. It’s much different than what some people say and teach. It’s more simple and there is so much power behind it. So I really want to see more of their swings, and also the Italians. They swing really well too,” Astner said.
Austrian manager Fredi Heisler considers Astner one of the country’s most ambitious and committed players and is on the right path to becoming one of Austria’s best players. “The ambition comes from watching older players,” said Astner, who plays for the Diving Ducks Wr. Neustadt. “For example in my club, one of our veteran players was our best players and he was my coach. And from then on I loved the game and kept playing and eventually got into the academy and everything since then.”
Astner was referring to Diving Ducks legend Ferdinand Obed, and added: “He’s very hard with himself and very disciplined. He works hard and gets results. Trying to be like him and now playing for Austria like he did as well, it’s a great accomplishment by me to be here.”
Being in Regensburg is just the latest positive in a strong 2024, beginning with playing in the Diving Ducks top flight team. “In the off-season I was waiting and had a feeling I would get there. At first they said I wouldn’t play much but I will practice with the team and kind of get the feeling. Then all of a sudden I was playing in the season opener and from then on I started playing every second game. Everything happened so fast. I worked my way up there to play consistently and also play not bad,” he said
Astner also got to play in the WBSC Europe Baseball European Cup 2024. “That was also great. We are one of the top teams in Austria but then to see other teams and how good they are in comparison to Austria it’s such a wide spectrum of how far you can go as a player. There is so much to learn from older players and veterans,” Astner said.
The name Astner is actually long engrained in the Diving Ducks club. Moritz’s mother was part of the founding team for the club’s softball team. His sister also plays for the club and his father played as well. And his older brother Felix Astner is currently on the team. It should be no surprise that Moritz has been playing for 10 years now.
When asked how his malformed left hand hinders him, Astner said he can’t swing righty any more. “I started switch-hitting when I was young. I am very lucky that I started switch-hitting because swinging lefty is fine for me, but swinging righty is basically impossible for me because my left hand goes off and it’s basically a one-handed swing with my top hand. I made that change early,” he recalled. Astner said he used to have struggles fielding, but that changed for the better when he started using a catcher’s strap which is connected to his glove and then wraps around his wrist. “Since I got a catcher’s strap. I can pretty much field regularly - though I use a pretty small glove since it fits.”
When asked about people who inspired him to play despite his malformed hand, Astner said he had watched videos of long-time MLB lefty pitcher Jim Abbott, who had no right hand; as well as Luke Terry, who when he was in middle school gained popularity as a one-armed catcher. “After seeing that, I saw there was no reason why I couldn’t play. I could do it,” he said. Astner said he hopes people watch him and are inspired by his story as well.
“For anybody who has some form of deformation or was born differently, if you enjoy the game and want to play there’s no reason to stop. Whatever your teammates tell you or coaches tell you that something is wrong, there is a way you can do it. And you should believe that. There is no reason to stop.”
He is an example himself.
David Hein x WBSC Europe
